VAHAN HOVHANNISIAN: COMING PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS TO BE TOUCHSTONE FOR DEMOCRATIZATION OF COUNTRY
Noyan Tapan
Jun 20 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Vahan Hovhannisian, the RA National
Assembly Deputy Speaker and Levon Mkrtchian, the RA Education and
Science Minister met on June 19 with Anthony John James Cantor, the
Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
to Armenia and A.Page, the Deputy Chief of the Foreign Ministry’s
Eastern Department.
Vahan Hovhannisian touched upon the inner developments of the country,
reforms addressed to the European integration, political formations,
parliamentary and presidential elections to take place in 2007
and 2008.
According to Vahan Hovhannisian, the presidential elections will
greatly depend on the coming parliamentary elections. They will
be a touchstone for democratization of the country as well, so all
political forces must spare no efforts not to allow breakings. The
legislative, economic and political reforms being implemented in
the country are on a right way, though there are faults in their
implementation. Outer factors also leave their negative stamp on
development of economy of Armenia, particularly Turkey’s blockade and
Azerbaijan’s non-constructive position connected with settlement of
the Karabakh issue.
Responding A.Page’s question, what foresights of settlement of the
Karabakh issue exist, the NA Deputy Speaker informed that there were
three proposals within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group which
Armenia accepted, and Azerbaijan refused. The latter wants not to
see the problem, but to liquidate consequences what is not possible
withouth solution of the problem. Vahan Hovhannisian considered
inadmissible the Azerbaijani intention to solve in future by power
by accounting of the oil factor and the international community’s
not taking serious steps against that phenomenon.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NA Public Relations Department,
A.Page mentioned that some economic circles may connect solution of
the issue with the oil factor but it is not the official position of
the Great Britain, and assured that his country does its best to find
a mutually beneficial solution for settlement of the Karabakh issue.